The Last of the Malfoys (on hiatus)

Chapter Two

She opened her eyes. Was this real? Jeanine wasn't sure if she really got her Pottem acceptance letter or if it was just a nightmare. The ceiling was spinning and she heard a few distant voices.

"Is she asleep?" she heard a woman say, far away from here.

"Her eyes are open." Someone else said.

And then the girl sat up. She realised that the voices were coming from right next to her and they belonged to her parents. The girl's forehead was covered in sweat and her head was pounding painfully. It sounded like African drums. She looked around the room and realised she was sitting on a bed in a hospital room.

"What happened?" she muttered.

"Lula saw you faint in your room. You had a very high fever. It couldn't be healed with an Anti-Fever, though. It's probably a side effect of the potion. Just lay down." mum explained.

Jeanine looked at her. She had a worried look on her face and wore blood red lipstick which fit very nicely with her fair skin. Her black, shiny hair was clipped at the back of her head with a sky blue hair clip. She had dark circles under her eyes. She must have been awake for a long time now.

"How long 'ave you been up?" The young girl groaned from the pain in my head.

"Since this morning." she replied quickly.

"What time is it?" Jeanine laid back down and pressed my head against the cold part of the pillow.
"11PM. But don't worry, go to sleep." she brushed her hand through her daughter's hair and faintly smiled. She closed her eyes and the last thing Jeanine remembered was a Healer above her, checking her temperature.

***

When Jeanine woke up again, the air seemed to become colder and the only lights were coming from the corridor outside of the room. Mum, dad and the Healers were gone. Sitting up, she felt an instant sharp pain in her head as if a nail was pressed against it. She laid her head back down on the pillow and the pain became weaker, though it was still there. It was still there like the smell of your animal right after it dies. It feels like it's gone, but it's still kind of there. The girl closed her eyes, but opened them straight away. She was wide awake. Lying in the hospital bed would just make her back hurt, so she tried to sit up again. The sharp pain at the back of the head came again, but Jeanine forced through it. Slipping her feet off the hospital bed onto the cold floor, felt like she was standing on ice or more like swimming in ice. The cold ran up her legs to her spine and up to the head, which cooled down the pain a bit. She took a small step and the room started spinning. Sitting back down on the bed, everything went back to normal. Dizziness might be a side effect of the potion, Jeanine noted in her head.

After a minute, the girl realised she was just staring at the big poster on how to recognise poisons, which was hanging on a white wall opposite the bed. The pain in her head was slowly disappearing, like the air from an opened balloon. She decided to try to stand up again. Her head still felt like it was spinning, but she could walk across the room to the open door. As Jeanine peeked out of the room, she closed her eyes to block out the bright light, but after blinking a few times, her eyes became used to the brightness. The corridor was as empty as a school classroom during the summer vacation. There was a stinging smell of sanitiser and cleaning products. A few of the lights were flicking on and off and made a quiet buzzing sound that couldn't be heard during the day because of the noises of the crowd. Someone was whispering in a room on the opposite side of the corridor. The door was open and the girl caught sight of a clock. It was twenty-seven minutes past two. This was going to be a long night...

***

Sitting on her bed, Jeanine tried to remember exactly what happened in the room on the night she checked the Owler. It was a bit of a blur, but she clearly remembered the blue light and the title of the letter; "Pottem, the School of Advanced Magic". She wished she never opened the Owler. This would have never happened and she would have just stayed home until she got old. The girl looked out of the window. The sun was slowly rising above the buildings in London. She heard footsteps coming through the door and a hand touched her shoulder. She turned her head around and looked at the Healer, who she saw right before she fell asleep. The woman had red hair, tied into a pony tail and piercing blue eyes. They looked like diamonds.

"Are you alright, Miss Malfoy?" she said looking at the girl with care.

"I'm okay, although I have been up for more than two hours." Jeanine yawned. "But the pain is gone and I don't feel dizzy anymore."

"That's great, Miss Malfoy. You can go home soon. I will let your parents know they can pick you up." she smiled and left the room.

Jeanine was left alone again.

The boredom was getting to her. Jeanine had no thoughts in her mind, she couldn't even think about the letter. She felt sick and tired of being with herself and herself only. She wanted someone to talk to someone or have something to do, but she already read all the posters on the walls six times. Well, time to reread them again, she thought and stood up to circle the room again. It kind of felt like prison. Like being stuck in prison and knowing you've done nothing wrong. Except there's no Dementors. But it probably feels the same way.

Time passes slowly when you're bored and the hour Jeanine spent in this hospital room felt like months. When her mum finally came into the room, she felt a rush of happiness. She was finally going home, although she kind of wanted to stay in the hospital room, so that she didn't have to face the letter from Pottem again. But she left the room and headed home.

***

As Jeanine walked into the room, it felt like nothing happened. It was clean. All the books  were on the bookshelf and the papers used for doodling were all on the desk, which was particularly empty. Then the girl realised, her Owler was gone.